Hawaii Court Restrains County from Enforcing GE Crop Registration Rule

According to a news source, the Hilo, Hawaii, Circuit Court has granted the
request of an anonymous papaya farmer to stay the March 5, 2014, deadline
imposed by Hawaii County for growers of genetically engineered (GE) crops to
register or face a $1,000 penalty per day. Doe v. Cty. Of Hawaii, No. 14-1-0094
(Hawaii Cir. Ct., order entered March 7, 2014). According to the farmer, who
is among those raising GE papaya, which resists a devastating ringspot virus,
the registration requirement “provides a roadmap for extremists who wish
to target GE growers, identifying exactly who to target and where to target
them.” The farmer contends that he and other GE farmers in Hawaii County
“have been the target of a highly disturbing pattern of vandalism, intimidation,
and extremism” and that the perpetrators “have destroyed hundreds of
thousands of dollars of GE crops.” See Law360, March 10, 2014.

Issue 517